Fleming Community Library

Spithead, 1784. His Majesty's Frigate, Undine, sets sail for India and the seas beyond. Europe may be at peace-but in colonial waters the promises of statesmen count for little and the bloody struggle for supremacy still goes on.

In 1772, sixteen-year-old British midshipman Richard Bolitho undergoes a severe initiation into the game of seamanship, intercepts and destroys a band of vicious pirates, and becomes involved with smugglers.

Portsmouth, 1782. His Britannic Majesty's frigate, Phalarope, is ordered to assist the hard-pressed squadrons in the Caribbean. Aboard is her new commander-Richard Bolitho. To all appearances the Phalarope is everything a young captain could wish for, but beneath the surface she is a deeply unhappy ship-her wardroom torn by petty greed and ambition, her deckhands suspected of cowardice under fire and driven to near-mutiny by senseless ill-treatment....

Captain Richard Bolitho is placed in charge of the flagship of a squadron attempting to force Britain's entry into the Mediterranean during the late eighteenth century.

Rear Admiral Richard Bolitho commands the British squadron at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801.

Richard Bolitho, British commodore of a small Mediterranean squadron in 1798, faces danger from the weather, the enemy, and his own men as he attempts to discover the intentions and strength of the French armada.

March 1806: Napoleon holds Portugal and threatens his old ally Spain. Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho is dispatched once more to the Cape of Good Hope to establish a permanent naval force.

June 1809. Soon after taking part in the dramatic capture of Martinique in the Caribbean, Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho is next despatched to the African coast to gather a flotilla and stop French attacks on British trade routes. But Bolitho must contend with more than Britain's old enemy - he must also face the hatred of his flag captian and betrayal by a man he once counted on as his friend. In the dangerous waters off South Africa, Bolitho hunts...

"In September 1804, as England stands alone against France and the fleets of Spain, Vice-Admiral Richard Bolitho hoists his flag above the veteran Hyperion and sets sail with a new squadron for the Caribbean. His orders are to plan and execute a daring dawn raid on the Spanish Main. Beneath the hostile mortars of La Guaira lies the ultimate prize: her Catholic Majesty's largest treasure ship, laden with gold and silver bound for Spain." -- Back cover....

Plymouth, July 1801: Richard Bolitho's small squadron, still repairing the scars of battle earned in heavy action at Copenhagen, has been months away from the sea. But the Admiralty needs Bolitho. After eight years of war with France, Britain must make a gesture that will show her strength and determination-and one which will dramatically weaken the French cause. The Admiralty wants an attack. Rear-Admiral Bolitho must follow his flag's tradition...